Howard Monroe And The Morning Showtag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-14595682018-02-20T06:44:28-05:00TypePadBeware the “lovey dovey” words. Look to the actions and the factstag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f0c96dd883401b8d2dbc1cc970c2018-02-20T06:44:28-05:002018-02-20T06:44:28-05:00The misdirection and misinformation from WV GOP legislative leadership is frustrating. Rather than recognize the importance of education and the very real needs of teachers, they try to demonize and sweet talk their very real and intentional disregard for the...Howard Monroe

The misdirection and misinformation from WV GOP legislative leadership is frustrating.

Rather than recognize the importance of education and the very real needs of teachers, they try to demonize and sweet talk their very real and intentional disregard for the people who educate our children.

So let’s try to be inoculated against the weasel words.

Senate Minority Leader Ryan Ferns: The reality is, the plan that the Senate leadership passed, our plan results in between a 9 and 13 percent pay increase for teachers and public employees. (WVMetronews.com)

The Senate proposal is 1% for each of the next 5 years. That is based on average teacher salary which means all teachers get $404 the first year

That comes out to $404, the amount all teachers would receive, no matter how much they make or how long they have been in the system.

Most teachers are paid twice a month, so that boils down to nearly $17 extra a paycheck, or a total of $2,020 over five years.(WCHSTV.com)

Ferns tried to add the “step increases” into his figures-but those are already baked into the budget and aren’t new “raises”

Senate president Mitch Carmichael wants to continue the right wing dogma of helping big business and eventually it will trickle down

It is long past time in this state that we create a climate of growth, jobs and opportunity. So those things that are critical to the long-term success and restructuring of this economy are going to be — we have to find room for those things. We cannot eat our seed corn, so to speak. And that’s exactly what we’d be doing if we take our eye off restructuring this economy.

WVMetronews.com)

First—the philosophy has been tried and proven not to work. Over and over. Around the country AND in WV.

The most egregious and infuriating “pretense” of these GOP leaders is their attempt to care about the student.

Carmichael: The thought of teachers or union bosses inciting walkouts or strikes and leaving our students behind is deplorable. I completely reject that kind of mentality from the union bosses.

WVMetronews.com)

Senator Karnes: I’m already worried about the tens of thousands of kids that today are not in school and the parents that have to deal with that.

WVMetronews.com)

To be clear: rank and file around the state authorized their leadership to call for the work stoppage.

The phony attempt to demonize teachers’ elected leadership as “union bosses” is both transparent and wrong.

Senators, when you show concern for the students are you thinking about students with 700+ under qualified (or unfilled) positions?

Are you concerned about the students who see the best qualified teachers cross state lines for $10-20,000 higher pay?

Are you concerned about students who won’t get the best new teachers because they are going to places with better pay?

Are you concerned about THE STATE which lags in education to the detriment of economic development?

WV teachers have honest, truthful, and patient.

Reward those traits with more than just words—respond truthfully, professionally, and with action.

Reckoning may be coming in Charleston tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f0c96dd883401b8d2da9e7e970c2018-02-15T19:03:54-05:002018-02-15T19:02:10-05:00WV legislative leaders have made a bad misstep. They have run roughshod over the desires of their constituents the last few years in order to do the bidding of a right wing agenda and corporate interests. They have felt immune...Howard Monroe

WV legislative leaders have made a bad misstep.

They have run roughshod over the desires of their constituents the last few years in order to do the bidding of a right wing agenda and corporate interests.

They have felt immune to any electoral blowback, counting on voters short term memory by election time.

And they’ve been right.

But this year’s frustrations from teachers, service personnel, and other state employees are not going away.

GOP leaders keep saying “we hear you”, but decline to do anything about it. A meager 1% or 2% raise is seen as a drop in the bucket, a slap in the face.

At least short term work stoppages are a guarantee with full-fledged strike a serious possibility.

When I see teachers with protest signs standing at Triadelphia and Bridge Street schools, lined up at John Marshal High and in Follansbee. When young and old alike are publicly proclaiming they’ve had enough, I know this boiling pot isn’t going to return to normal.

The phrase has been used the last several years, but I suspect this year it will actually ring true: REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER.

AUDIO: Close the blinds and draw the drapestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f0c96dd883401b8d2da37b0970c2018-02-14T09:18:08-05:002018-02-14T09:09:04-05:00“Money is the mother’s milk of politics”, the old saying goes, but just like many people feel about breastfeeding, some WV legislators prefer that campaign cash be covered up. On Tuesday, Ohio County Delegate Shawn Fluharty was warned not to...Howard Monroe

“Money is the mother’s milk of politics”, the old saying goes, but just like many people feel about breastfeeding, some WV legislators prefer that campaign cash be covered up.

On Tuesday, Ohio County Delegate Shawn Fluharty was warned not to talk about who’s pulling lawmakers’ strings.

@WVUFLU says the vote today is symbolic and does "little to nothing." @ArmsteadWV asks Fluharty to stick to discussion of the bill after accusations that the House submits to the whims of corporate interests and not the benefit of the people.(Tweet from Dave Mistich, WV Public Broadcasting)

Friday, Lissa Lucas, Democrat candidate for the House, began to speak at a public hearing on natural gas legislation by reading a public list of campaign contributions by the gas industry and was forcibly taken out of the chambers

Stepping to the microphone Lucas can be seen saying, “I have to keep this short, because the public only gets a minute and 45 seconds while lobbyists can throw a gala at the Marriott with whiskey and wine and talk for hours to the delegates.”(Rawstory.com)

After reading 3 committee members and the money they received, chairman John Schott shut her down and had her removed.

If lawmakers consider public knowledge about who’s financing them is a personal attack, maybe they shouldn’t be taking the money to begin with.

Lissa Lucas spent time with us this week on The Watchdog Morning Show

AUDIO: It's not always politics.....tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f0c96dd883401b8d2d70a88970c2018-02-12T12:48:03-05:002018-02-12T12:47:48-05:00Much of the Watchdog Morning Show is devoted to the hot politics news and important issues of the day, but most days, we step down to more mundane matters as well. Here's a smatter of some recent non-political rants of...Howard Monroe

Much of the Watchdog Morning Show is devoted to the hot politics news and important issues of the day, but most days, we step down to more mundane matters as well. Here's a smatter of some recent non-political rants of mine.

AUDIO: Halfway home--how are they doin'tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f0c96dd883401b8d2d95bb6970c2018-02-11T18:54:44-05:002018-02-11T18:53:58-05:00Mountain State lawmakers are moving into the 2nd half of their 60-day session with differing ideas on how successful they've been so far. Ohio County democratic delegate Shawn Fluharty was on The Watchdog Morning Show and notes only a single...Howard Monroe

“To say we’re a do nothing legislature–I’d say speak for yourselves, if that’s what you’re saying,” Butler said. “These issues may not come up in the order than you think they should but budgetary issues need to go through the process. We all realize the antics that have gone on here are for show.” (WVMetronews.com)

The simmering frustrations of teachers and other state employees have been front and center, but abortion, second amendment issues, Bible classes and speed limit increases have all been discussed in committees. Budget questions still remain. There's a long road to go before sine die.

AUDIO: Helping addicts stay away from Fentanyltag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54f0c96dd883401bb09f0f7d0970d2018-02-07T12:40:00-05:002018-02-06T19:43:33-05:00Johns Hopkins' researchers looked at a variety of ways to test for the addition of the powerful drug fentanyl to street level products. It's dramatically more potent and addictive than traditional drugs. n 2016, overdoses claimed more than 64,000 lives...Howard Monroe

Johns Hopkins' researchers looked at a variety of ways to test for the addition of the powerful drug fentanyl to street level products. It's dramatically more potent and addictive than traditional drugs.

n 2016, overdoses claimed more than 64,000 lives in the U.S., and all indications are that the 2017 numbers will be even greater. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, is the primary cause of the rapid increase in overdose deaths and is responsible for approximately 20,000 of the 2016 overdose deaths. (Johns Hopkins U)

Dr. Susan Sherman was a recent guest on The Watchdog Morning Show and said one of the products they found is a low cost, low tech test strip--akin to a pregnancy test--that drug users can be given to help them see if their drugs were laced with fentanyl. She and her fellow researchers also talked with over 300 drug users as well as several dozen police informants about their concerns on fentanyl

Informants overwhelmingly support the concept of drug checking in order to provide people who use drugs with more information to keep themselves safe, and to provide another potential point of engagement to help those people access services.

Dr. Sherman envisions public health agencies offering the test strips as they do needle exchanges in the hope of preventing serious problems, even death, and hopefully to engage and encourage drug users to begin treatment.